Florida red tides occurmost frequently along the southwest coast of
Florida (Fig. 2). In 2005, red tides were particularly long lasting in this
region, beginning in January and persisting through the entire year of
2005, sporadically reappearing in 2006 and 2007. Although year-long
blooms have occurred in the past, public concerns about the potentialimpacts of the blooms (including human illnesses, lost tourism revenues,
deaths of protected species, and declines in property values)
caused some coastal communities to urge decision-makers to look for
strategies that could minimize the frequency, duration, or scale of the
blooms, or to mitigate their impacts. In the ensuing discussions over
possible strategies, questions about the role of excessive nutrients
(including fertilizers) in coastalwaters known to originate fromanthropogenic
sources, moved quickly to the fore.